The Navy said the twin-engine plane crashed Monday in a farm field about 50 miles west of Spokane during a training flight. Photos of the crater show the plane apparently disintegrated on impact.

Officials confirmed the aircraft was an EA6B Prowler that was "engaged in a low-level navigation training mission."

A safety investigation is now under way.

Family: She lived life to the fullest

Delaney's family said she never let anything stop her. She graduated in 2009 from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and worked her way up to become a fighter pilot.

"Her name means strong and fearless, and that pretty much describes her," said Doreen Cappelaere, Delaney's mother.

The remains of the three fliers were being removed by a forensics team from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, officials said.

"You're shocked, and you're numb and can't feel, and then the waves of emotion come," Cappelaere said.

Delaney and her husband, Sean, also in the Navy and stationed in Washington, just celebrated their first wedding anniversary last month. Since then, messages of love and support have been pouring in from across the country.

"She touched many, many lives. I'm getting messages from friends who played lacrosse with her and who are now pilots themselves, who said, 'I couldn't have done it without Valerie. She helped me at hard times.' She was just that caring person," Cappealaere said.

The middle of three sisters, Delaney's family said she was always the strong one and would want them to be strong now -- and they're trying their best. They hope to use Delaney's legacy to make a difference, and they hope more young women will follow in her footsteps and fulfill their dreams to become pilots.

"Her life was short, full. She lived life to the fullest. She accomplished a lot of things and she found the love of her life, and she had faith. She had very strong faith, and we have no doubt where she is right now, and that's the strength we're drawing from," Cappealaere said.

Nancy Timm told The Spokesman-Review newspaper she was in her garage Monday morning when she heard what she thought was a plane flying low overhead. Soon thereafter, she heard a boom, then went out and saw smoke rising from the crash site.

Karen Carlson, who also lives near the crash site, told the newspaper she was talking on the phone when she heard what she thought was a sonic boom.

"Then the whole house just shook," she said of the jet's impact.

Whidbey Island is the home of the Navy's tactical electronic squadrons that fly the Prowler and similar aircraft.

The Prowler that crashed was assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 129, known as the Vikings. It is the Navy squadron charged with training all Navy and Marine Corps aviators assigned to fly Prowlers.

The E/A-6B has served as the primary electronics warfare aircraft for the Navy since its introduction in 1970. Its primary mission is to provide "protection for strike aircraft, ground troops and ships by jamming enemy radar, electronic data links and communications," according to the Navy.

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